Black Jack Gum...
What happened to
it?
Black Jack Gum history... William Finley Semple of Mount Vernon, Ohio obtained
the first chewing gum patent on December 28, 1869. Patent number 98,304
claimed the "combination of rubber with other articles, in any
proportions adapted to the formation of an acceptable chewing gum."
Semple never commercially made any chewing gum.
Development of Chicle Gum came with
a big breakthrough in 1869 from another source. Exiled Mexican former
president and general, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (infamous for his
victory over the Alamo defenders) was living in New Jersey. He brought a
ton of Mexican chicle with him, in hopes of selling it.
He persuaded Thomas Adams of Staten
Island, New York to buy it. Adams was a photographer and inventor. Adams
intended to vulcanize the chicle for use as a rubber substitute. But his
efforts at vulcanization did not work. However, Adams noticed that Santa
Anna liked to chew the chicle (the Mayans chewed chicle many years
previously).
Disappointed with the rubber
experiments, Adams boiled a small batch of chicle in his kitchen to create
a chewing gum. He gave some to a local store to see if people would buy
it. People liked his gum, and before long his business was quite
successful.
In 1871 Adams received the first patent on a gum-making machine and began mass producing a
chicle-based gum. His first gum ("Snapping and Stretching") was pure chicle with
no flavoring, but sold well enough to encourage Adams in his plans.
He began to experiment with flavorings, beginning
with sarsaparilla. In 1884, he began adding a licorice flavoring and called his invention
Adams' Black Jack, the first flavored gum in America. At this time, chewing
gum changed shape from lump or chunks, to sticks. It was also the first gum to be
offered in sticks as we know it today. It was an instant success.
Black Jack Gum was sold well into the 1970s, when
production was halted because of slow sales. Adams became part of the American Chicle
Company. This company was eventually purchased by the Warner- Lambert Company,
part of Pfizer. In 2003 Adams was purchased by the Cadbury Company.
Occasionally Adams (maker of Chiclets) has whipped
up a batch including other old time favorites Beeman's and Clove. The last
batch was in the fall of 2005.
We get emails just about every day asking about
Black Jack, Clove and Beeman's. We are just as disappointed as our
customers and would like to see Adams revive the brand. Recently Cadbury
bought the Adams brand we were hopeful that it will come back permanently. We
encourage you to contact Adams gum to let them know your desire to
purchase your old time favorite. Call Consumer Affairs at 1-800-524-2854
weekdays between 9:00 a. m. and 5:00 p. m. EST. If it comes back we will
send a message to our customers through our email
newsletter. |
